U.S. first lady Melania Trump said Tuesday that the cease-fire in Oleshky, brokered with her help, has been extended beyond the town to allow humanitarian convoys to reach it. The truce began two days earlier than originally announced.
“The cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia took effect on Oct. 27, 2026, at 4 a.m. Moscow time,” the U.S. president’s wife wrote in a post on the X platform. She added that the start of the cease-fire was moved up two days from the planned date in order to “ensure the safety of the civilian population and facilitate the delivery of essential humanitarian aid.”
“The geographic area of the cease-fire has expanded beyond Oleshky, in the Kherson region, to ensure safe passage for humanitarian convoys,” she added. She noted that the information was confirmed by the chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, Gen. Valery Gerasimov. In her post, Trump used only his first name and patronymic.
It is not yet clear exactly what territory the truce covers. The White House had initially said the cease-fire in Oleshky would begin on Oct. 29. Melania Trump had also said earlier that she had spoken about the truce with both the president of Ukraine and the leader of Russia, and that both had signed the agreement.
The White House also announced that civilian officials from both sides would visit the town, and that the visit would be documented by a TV crew from the American network Newsmax.
Davyd Arakhamia, chairman of the parliamentary caucus of Servant of the People, Ukraine’s ruling party, said Tuesday that fighting would be halted until Nov. 1.
“As part of U.S. first lady Melania Trump’s initiative to unblock Oleshky, the largest-scale cease-fire, covering the longest section of the front in southern Ukraine, began today at 3 a.m. Kyiv time (2 a.m. in Poland). It is the biggest de-escalation since 2022,” the lawmaker wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
“The cease-fire will last from Oct. 27 until 10:59 p.m. on Nov. 1,” he added.
The cease-fire was introduced in connection with the start of a humanitarian mission, the aim of which, according to Ukrainian authorities, is to evacuate residents of Oleshky.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that no violations of the truce in Oleshky had been recorded so far.
Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, confirmed Tuesday that the Ukrainian side is honoring the cease-fire arrangements in designated areas of the Russian-occupied town.
According to authorities in Kyiv, the situation of the people who remain in Oleshky is dramatic. The White House confirmed that about 2,000 people, including 50 children, are in the town without access to food or drinking water. Oleshky was flooded after the nearby dam in Nova Kakhovka was destroyed in 2023.
Oleshky lies about 4 km (2.5 miles) from Kherson on the left, Russian-occupied bank of the Dnipro River. According to reports, the roads leading to the town are mined and Russian drones constantly operate there, making it even harder for residents to leave.
By Oskar Górzyński in Washington (PAP)
